Joe Manchin Not Running for President in 2024

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he would not seek a third-party run for president in 2024, ending months of speculation.

Key Quote: “I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” the centrist senator said in a speech at West Virginia University, adding, “I am not going to be a deal breaker, if you will, a spoiler.” 

For Context: Manchin’s remarks were an apparent break from his comments a day earlier, when he floated Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) as running mates in a hypothetical presidential campaign. Manchin was in West Virginia touring with his daughter's campaign group “Americans Together,” which seeks to support the “moderate majority” and reject “extremism in politics.” Manchin previously frustrated congressional Democrats early in President Joe Biden’s term by insisting on more moderate versions of Biden’s legislative proposals. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread and relatively straightforward across the spectrum Friday morning. The New Republic (Left bias) stood out by highlighting that Manchin’s concern about being a “spoiler” was “exactly what everyone had been warning him about for the last year.”